The Riddles
by Mizuni-no-neko
Summary: What would have happened if Tom Riddle Sr. Had never left Merope? What if eveything we knew about them was false? What if he had fallen in love on his own? Oneshot Merope/Tom Sr.


I've always wanted to know how Tom Riddle Jr. (note the lack of the name Voldemort) Would turn out if His father had stayed.

So I came up with this scenario. What if Merope hadn't given him a potion? What if he fell in love of his own accord?

I hope you guys like it!

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Tom Riddle was utterly confused.

You may think that this is a normal occurrence seeing as you probably know what supposedly happened.

But you're wrong.

I know that you have been told that this man was tricked in to loving Merope Gaunt.

But you're wrong about that too.

You see it had all started moths ago.

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_Tom was having a very good day. He decided that it would be a good time to assure himself of his superiority by laughing at the family that lived in a hovel close his house._

_He rode down on his horse, smirking. But all was not as it usually was._

_He heard shouting._

_Now normally this wouldn't bother him. The father and son often shouted at the girl, who they believed worthless._

_But this voice was female._

_He jumped off of his horse and crept up to a window._

_Nothing would prepare him for what he saw._

_The girl was livid. She had her father and brother backed into a corner with a this stick. Her long black hair seemed to swirl around her and her black eyes blazed with a righteous fury._

_She was beautiful._

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Tom smiled at that thought. Merope was a beautiful person on the inside and out. All she had needed was a bath, a hairbrush, and someone to love her.

And he loved her.

He knew she was a witch, she had told him honestly when he had asked about the stick.

And he couldn't care less.

If he knew that he loved her, why was he confused?

That was complicated.

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_Tom walked down to Merope's hut. He had been there many times since that day. _

_But he had a special purpose that day._

_The fumbled with an invisible speck of dust on his jacket as he knocked on the door._

_Her father answered._

_"What are _you _doing here muggle?" he spat._

_"I have come to see Merope." He said confidently._

_The old man looked him up and down. He knew from Merope that her father didn't like muggle, but he didn't care._

_He met the man's stare and matched it with his own. They held it for what seemed like an eternity, the older judging the younger and the younger trying to meet the older's standerds._

_"Well are you going to come in or not boy?" he asked gruffly as he stepped aside._

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He smiled at that too. He had met her father's approval. He thought nothing could be harder than that.

Boy, was he wrong.

His father had been even worse.

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_"Father,may I talk to you?" he asked as he entered his father's private study._

_"Of course son." _

_The older man, of who was a spitting image, swivelled around to face him._

_"Now what do you need?"_

_Tome fidgeted under his father's gaze, it made him feel like a small boy who had broken a window and lied about it._

_"I intend to marry." he said hesitantly._

_The older man smiled, he had been waiting for this moment for a long time._

_"Who is she son? Anyone I would know?"_

_Tom fidgeted again._

_"Yes...and no."_

_This puzzled the older Riddle._

_"Explain please."_

_Tom squirmed even more._

_"I will explain, but I can't promised you will be pleased." he said, not meeting his father's confused gaze._

_"Go on."_

_"Umm...after long deliberation I have...found myself in love with...with Merope Gaunt."_

_He blushed heavily, looking at anything other than his father._

_"The peasent girl?"_

_Tom could only nod blankly._

_His father's face grew red._

_"Of all the women out there you had to pick that inbred worthless thing who can't even afford to take a bath!" he exploded._

_This drew out Tom's anger as well._

_"She is not worthless! She is a wonderful person and I will not have you call her that! She is a beautiful person on the inside _and_the outside! She has enough problem being insulted by her own family that she doesn't need you condescending her as well! You don't even know her!" _

_His breathing was heaving and his eyes sparked with anger._

_His father stopped short._

_"Let me meet this girl then, and then I will make my judgement."_

_Tom nodded._

_He cooled down as he rode over to Merope's dwelling. He knocked on the door and smiled at the old man._

_"May I take Merope put for a while?"_

_The old man smiled and beckoned her over._

_"Be back before dark." was all he said before he closed to door._

_"Merope my father wants to meet you." he said gently._

_She nodded and ran a brush through her hair and removed the dirt from her body and clothes with a subtle spell._

_They arrived in his father's private study in a matter of minutes._

_"Father, she is here." he said as he led Merope into the room._

_"Let me get a look at her then." he said, getting up and putting on his glasses._

_She curtsied and greeted him. "Good afternoon Mr. Riddle." She said quietly._

_"She seems respectful enough. Let's see her deportment."_

_She walked gracefully across the study, almost floating._

_"Satisfactory." was all he said._

_His father seemed to evaluate her like he would a horse or a length of fabric._

_"You have my blessing on one condition."_

_Tom looked up._

_"What, father."_

_The older man smiled._

_"I expect a grandchild as soon as possible."_

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Things had gone smoothly since then, but there was still the matter that confused him the most.

And it had nothing to do with their parents.

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_Tom and Merope were sitting on a log in the forest having a picnic. Tom grabbed her hand gently. _

_"Merope, I have something important to ask you."_

_She turned to him with wide eyes._

_"Merope, you know I love you. And I wanted to prove it to you."_

_He took a small black velvet box out of his pocket and kneeled in front of her._

_"Merope, will you marry me?"_

_She was shocked to say the least._

_"No." she whispered._

_It was his turn to be shocked._

_"Merope...why?"_

_There were tears in her eyes._

_"Tom it's all a lie, you don't really love me. I tricked you."_

_He gathered the sobbing girl into his arms._

_"What do you mean Merope."_

_Her sobs slowed to sniffles._

_"I gave you a love potion, about three weeks ago I started giving it to you."_

_Her sobs began afresh as he chuckled and wiped her tears away._

_"Hush child, you didn't trick me. I loved you long before that. I just didn't realize it until three _months_ ago."_

_She looked up at him with tear filled eyes._

_"Three months?"_

_He nodded and held her close._

_"Now that you know that, will you marry me?"_

_She only nodded as she snuggled closer to him._

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Even though all had run smoothly and they had eventually been married in a grand ceremony on the front lawn of the Riddle manor, he was still confused.

Merope had been practically dancing around their small house. This puzzled him. He had watched her intently for weeks, but she avoided every question.

Until today.

She had headed out the door and into the village, promising she'd give him the answers when she got back.

He heard the door open and turned as his wife stepped in.

She was smiling.

"Tom, I have news. Good news."

He smiled.

"I didn't want to tell you until I was sure but...I'm pregnant."

His smile broke into a grin.

He grabbed her and twirled her around by her waist.

As he set her gently back on the ground he bent down and kissed her stomach.

"Hey baby, it's daddy."

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And that is the first chapter. I warn you now that I don't update like I should.


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